. . . Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau distils an otherworldly spirituality in this song, inspired by the sentient, deep-toned playing of the Berlin Philharmonic under Karl Böhm. Fischer-Dieskau sees everything and exaggerates nothing. "Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder" is gently whimsical, "Um Mitternacht" predictably magnificent, whether in the hushed, fearful opening, the lamenting quality of tone at the disconsolate "Es hat kein Lichtgedanken mir Trost gebracht", or the final affirmation, warm and noble, without bombast. His responses to text and harmonic flux are specific, never generalised.